1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments relate to a photographing apparatus and method, and more particularly, to a photographing apparatus and method, in which the type of a scene that is to be photographed may be automatically recognized to set a shooting condition suitable for the recognized type of the scene and photographing may be performed by locking the shooting condition according to a user's selection.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, cameras having a ‘shooting mode’ function have come into widespread use. The shooting mode provides, for example, a portrait mode, a landscape mode, or a night-view mode, which is an automatically set shooting condition according to the environment of a scene that is to be photographed. In general, a shooting mode is selected by manipulating a mode dial. However, beginners who are inexperienced in handling cameras may have difficulty determining a mode that matches the current state of a scene that is to be photographed.
To solve this problem, a scene recognition function has been introduced, by which a current shooting state of a desired scene is analyzed. Via the scene recognition function, a shooting mode for photographing the scene is automatically determined, a shooting condition of a camera is automatically set according to the determined shooting mode, and then photographing is performed.
The scene recognition function would be very useful for beginners but may inconvenience users who desire to photograph a scene according to a particular shooting mode. That is, when the scene recognition function is used, scene recognition is continuously performed even after the type of a scene has been automatically recognized and the particular shooting mode has been selected. Thus, a shooting mode change occurs when the scene changes even slightly.
Also, since scene recognition is continuously performed even after the type of a scene has been automatically recognized and a particular shooting mode has been selected, an algorithm for scene recognition is repeatedly executed, and thus load on a camera is increased, thereby reducing the operating speed of the camera.